Zócalo Public Square

America’s college campuses have become crucial testing grounds—and, at times, battlegrounds—as the country grapples with rapidly changing modes and mores of sexual behavior and expression. Fraternities are being scrutinized for promoting a culture of alcohol-fueled male privilege and presumption. Lecture halls and quads ring out with passionate debates about how to set the ground rules for sexual consent. Academic officials are being called to act as judges and arbiters over some of the most intimate aspects of students’ lives. Vanessa Grigoriadis, contributing editor at The New York Times Magazine and author of Blurred Lines: Rethinking Sex, Power, and Consent on Campus, explored these trends, as well as the written and unwritten rules of sexual engagement, at a Zócalo event, “Are College Campuses Rewriting the Rules of Sex in America?” on October 11, 2017 at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Los Angeles.